© American Dairy Science Association, 2007. Inoculant Effects on Alfalfa Silage: Fermentation Products and Nutritive Value (2006)

Content Provider	CiteSeerX
Author	Filya, I. Contreras-Govea, F. E. Muck, R. E.
Abstract	The effect of 14 microbial inoculants on the fermentation and nutritive value of alfalfa silages was studied under laboratory conditions. The first cut (477 g of dry matter/kg) and second cut (393 g of dry matter/kg) of a second-year alfalfa stand were ensiled in 2 trials. In both trials alfalfa was harvested with standard field equipment. All inoculants were applied at 1.0 × 10 6 cfu/g of crop. Uninoculated silages served as controls. After inoculants were added, the chopped forages were ensiled in 1.0- and 0.5-L anaerobic glass jars, respectively, at a density of 500 g/L. Each trial had 15 treatments (uninoculated control and 14 inoculants), with 4 silos per treatment. Silos were stored for a minimum of 30 d at room temperature (∼22°C). In first-cut silage, all inoculants but one reduced pH relative to the uninoculated control, and all but 2 of the homofermentative strains shifted fermentation toward lactic acid. In second-cut silage, the epiphytic lactic acid bacterial population was 2.7 × 10 7 cfu/g, and only commercial inoculants produced significant shifts in fermentation. Overall, microbial inoculants generally had a positive effect on alfalfa silage characteristics in terms of lower pH and shifting fermentation toward lactic acid with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria or toward acetic acid with heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus buchneri. These effects were stronger in the commercial products tested. In spite of the positive effects on silage fermentation, 48-h in vitro true DM digestibility was not improved by inoculation with lactic acid bacteria. Key words: alfalfa, lactic acid bacteria, nutritive value, silage
File Format	PDF
Publisher Date	2006-01-01
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Homofermentative Lactic Acid Bacteria Significant Shift Inoculant Effect Lactobacillus Buchneri Nutritive Value Uninoculated Control Homofermentative Strain Fermentation Product First-cut Silage Microbial Inoculant Lactic Acid Bacteria Heterofermentative Lactic Acid Bacteria Commercial Product Second-year Alfalfa Stand Standard Field Equipment Laboratory Condition Acetic Acid Alfalfa Silage Commercial Inoculant First Cut Dry Matter Kg 5-l Anaerobic Glass Jar American Dairy Science Association Ph Relative Alfalfa Silage Characteristic Second-cut Silage Lactic Acid Second Cut Vitro True Dm Digestibility Silage Fermentation Positive Effect Chopped Forage Room Temperature Epiphytic Lactic Acid Bacterial Population Trial Alfalfa
Content Type	Text